A while ago I wrote about the wonderful way in which looking at the natural world will teach you to notice things that otherwise would simply pass through your sub-conscious mind. Without question one aspect of nature that is a constant joy to me is the infinite variety of form, light and colour taken by water. I might have believed, years ago, that one piece of water is much like another, but this is not the case. Even within my local area, where there are half a dozen small lochs of varying size, there are no two pieces of water that are even similar.
I am not talking about the size and shape of each loch. I am talking about the way the water looks, the way it behaves, the way it responds to light and air and even how it feels. It is different in every case. One loch is dark and full of energy. The next is light and airy, full of wisps and silver ripples. The next is full of edges in the water, with black and silver streaks punctuated only by rain. And while there is some degree of mutual phenomena between them all, there is greater difference.
Watching the play of light and form in the water in these different places is one of the most rewarding genres of landscape photography I’ve ever enjoyed. The fascination is endless, and even if I watch the ripples on the loch for the thousandth time, it still compels my heart and soul to focus with rapt attention. I must watch, and watch and watch.
